July of 1724, Bach developed a cantata format after his arrival in Leipzig, and cantatas became an important part of life for the people of the 17th century. Meine Seel erhebt den Herren is part of a second annual cycle of 40 church cantatas composed for the choristers of the Thomaskirche. Meine Seele erhebt den Herren was a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, which were sung by professional musicians accompanied by the choir. Cantatas were religious text messages, language, and final blessings that were sung during worship of the Virgin Mary on a visit to Elizabeth. The cantata contained a variety set of keys such as major and minor to demonstrate different moods and symbolism. This cantata is scored for soprano, tenor, bass and alto soloists, chorus, and trumpet, plus a pair of oboes, strings, and basso continuo. Even though the Meine Seele erhebt den Herren is in the tonic of G minor, the 3rd movement is a recitative meaning the singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms which is used a lot in canatas, and was an effective way to structure drama and meaning of the words. The third movement sets a dark mood of the recitative for tenor soloist; in the phrasings, “Auf seine Hilfe schaun …show more content…
In the beginning of the phrase, starting on “But” the cello supports the tenor with “mezzo forte” to capture the urgency feeling, but soon the strings disappear as the tenor finishes this phrasing. This cantata is explicitly biblical for the love and need of God, so the tenor is singing extremely musical during the phrasings of those words. The tenor again crescendos towards the words “great might” then diminish the volume of his voice when he sings “with his own
3 in A Minor was published in 1727, dedicated to Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena. The work opens with a quick-tempo Fantasia — a two-part contrapuntal piece in 3/8 with a melodic line that flows gracefully between the two hands, with inversions and modulations. The lyrical Allemande follows the traditional characteristics of a moderately slow movement in quadruple meter and binary form, and is articulated with turns and mordents. The Italian Corrente that follows it is a lively dance featuring sharply dotted rhythms and sixteenth notes. This is contrasted by the serious and dignified Sarabande, which is serious and dignified, yet lacks the accented second beats commonly used in most sarabandes, making it an unusual
The first movement of the Pastoral Symphony is in sonata form and is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, and strings. It has a tempo of “Allegro ma non troppo” which
These sections can be divided into even smaller sections, with section a having three subsections. All of section a is based on Acts 17:28 from the Bible, which reads “For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are His offspring.” This is from the Old Testament of the Bible, otherwise known as the Law before Christ. This theme is extremely important to this work; so significant, in fact, that this work’s alternate title, Actus Tragicus, suggests the concept of God’s will. Actus Tragicus is translated from the German Trauerspiel, which is a tragedy play that focused on bereavement over the human condition. From a Lutheran standpoint, humans cannot overcome their own selves, and they must trust in God and His plan. (232 online) According to Acts 17:28, humans are unsustainable without God, so they live for and through him. They must trust that God is ever-knowing and to believe in His will. Using the word “offspring” also proposes that humans must have respect for him, considering the fifth of the Ten Commandments: Honor your father and your mother. Calling people the offspring of God implicates that He is the almighty father, meaning people must honor Him. This, in turn, calls on humans to have trust and respect in His will, and to believe that they will meet Him someday. Acts 17:28 also states that we “move” and “live” through God. While this obviously means that people live not for themselves, but for God, it also suggests that life is dynamic, whether it be through events that occur or the fluctuating emotions people feel throughout their time living for God. Even in just this one section of the second movement, Bach displays various styles from subsection to subsection, suggesting that the emotions surrounding death can be different and ever-changing. (230
The words of the call and response describe the situation the community is in – it has lost one of its members and the others feel the pain of loss – but what really allows the reader to feel pain with the community is the chant itself. By putting the words in the form of a chant, the author has given them authority and made them personal to the characters singing them. Through his description of air swinging to the rhythm and of the swaying burden (which has a connotation much different from that of “refrain”), Heyward creates an image of ...
- The four note motive which first appears in bar 3 played by the harp.
In bars 9-13, it is evident that Bach had thought of the bass prior to the creation of the right-hand harmony, letting it remain the same from previous measures. Afterwards, in mm. 22-25, the move to the subdominant is emphasized by using extensive scales instead of the florid counterpoints. The inversion of bars 9-13 is then found in bars 26-29. Bars 26-34 recall the original key, modulating from subdominant D flat back to A flat, restating the main subject of the prelude. The fugue’s subject is introduced in the tenor voice, with the answer being in the bass. After a fairly prolonged codetta, the subject and answer comes in, in treble and alto respectively. Much of the piece is based on the counterpoint found in bar 2. Throughout the piece, there are five episodes. Bars 7-10 are formed on the counterpoint found in bar 2. The second episode is based from bar 3, with an inversion of the third voice; an inverted version is later identified in episode 4. Another inversion of the second is established in bars 14-17. At last, bars 25-27 is constructed from the passage of semiquavers in bars 2-3 in tenor, with the addition of treble and alto
The 3rd movement: Scene in the Fields. This section represents a tranquil interval. It is a summer evening in the country and he hears two shepherds piping. The tranquil moment of the quiet summer evening alone with the pastoral duet fills his heart with an unfamiliar calm. Suddenly she appears and her appearance causes an emotional response of sorrowful loneliness.
A man without words, by Susan Schaller, a book to understand (ASL) different Languages for deaf people and diagnose as a baby boy lived forty years, that people think he is mental problems. Voice from a no words, to explain the use of “words” as way of describing the lives of deaf people and that deaf people define themselves today. This book about a man who’s name, Ildefonso, a Mexican Indian, lived in total separation, set apart from the rest of the world. He wasn’t a political prisoner or a public outsider, he was simply born deaf and had never been taught even the most basic language. Susan Schaller, then a twenty-four-year-old graduate student, encountered him in a class for the deaf where she had been sent as an interpreter and where
In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, we observe Hamlet as an incredibly complex and bewildering character that upon first glance, seems to undergo a plethora of predicaments. Upon identification of such obstacles, we begin to wonder about whether his entirely fictitious existence in the play classifies him as sane while the world around him is in a way, insane or vise-versa. In addition, one of the main problems that superficially seems to be at the root of his conflicts is his melancholy. This is a condition that has always identified with him throughout the entire play, even still presenting itself up until the very end of Act V. In conclusion, the cause of his affliction is generally simplistic but drawn-out, serving to impact his actions significantly.
"Overture" begins with a voicemail to Sanwald, from an officer in regards to her father. The drumming begins, and the true meaning of "overture" begins as a proper introduction to the substance of a memory in a grand introductory piece of harmonics for the 9 minute track. Dean's vocals are light and breezy, and fill in the cracks between drums and layering effects. The tone is a creamy dream, and addictive to say the least. Hidden between the exterior of strength, represented by sounds, lies lyrics that pinch the heart: "By the time I found my father he’d already gone away / Caught him swimmin’ in a vision, now he’s coursin’ through my veins."
Hamlet Act 2 starts with a conversation between Polonius and Reynaldo, his servant, about how Reynaldo is to find out about the behavior of Laertes, Polonius’ son. This event foreshadows the Queen and King’s conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about how Hamlet’s two friends will uncover the reason for Hamlet’s recent behavior change. In their conversation, Polonius tells Reynaldo that he is to ask random people about Laertes and to tell the people about how Laertes, in his youth, gambled, was intoxicated and got into fights. He then tells Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. Through these actions, Polonius shows that he will do almost anything to control his children and their reputations. Throughout this Act, one general theme is revealed. This theme is the scheming of characters to
...lightning, and an earthquake, all imitated by the orchestra [m. 25]; and closes with dignified resolve in a slower accompanied recitative [m. 47].”
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is filled with many schemes and situations that are a challenge to interpret. The play centers around Hamlet, whose uncle murdered his father and married his mother. Certainly no one could blame Hamlet for appearing a little bit crazy after having to deal with that type of trauma. There are several times during Hamlet when Prince Hamlet appears to be crazy. What makes assessing the prince’s mental state more challenging is the fact that Prince Hamlet sets up a play within the play to expose his uncle for killing his father. Hundreds of years after Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet in 1603, scholars still disagree over whether Prince Hamlet is actually
In The Dark Knight, movie begins with Batman an appreciated hero who saves the city only to fall and become the enemy of Gotham City. Similarly in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Claudius is introduced as the new honored king of Denmark. As the play progresses, we find out he usurped power in killing King Hamlet, which will lead to his downfall. In Aristotle’s Poetics, he believes that objects of imitation are men in action and the men must be either of a higher or a lower type. A tragedy should aim for characters of a higher state or are better than in real life. Hamlet makes a good tragedy by its use of strong story structure, actions bringing about pity and fear, and Reversal in Recognition.
Hildegard von Bingen’s Play of Virtues. This musical piece uses plainchant, also known as Gregorian chant, to convey the church teachings as well as portray the importance of virtues such as humility and victory. The song begins with the devil speaking in mezzo forte and a low tone. This vocal timbre creates an isolated and dark tone that depicts the evil within the devil and contrasts the singing that follows in the next section. The song continues on to a monophonic texture as a female soloist sings a capella in a respectful tone. The relationship between the music and words is utilized here as a melisma is sung during the word regina after (0:56). This piece follows mainly conjunct motion throughout...